Furnace discharging apparatus



Oct. 13, 1931. E. F. AMENT FURNACE DISCHARGING APPARATUS Filed March 1,

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" ffvnDWAiin-frg AMENT, orYoUNesrowq'biiio i i v /FURNACE'DISCHARGING ArrAnA'rUs Y i i .Anplieatioii Y filed* March l1,

v.It lisithe usual practice te heat y'certain classes of materialjin furnacesinto which the material "is charged at oneendand froml f e which, "afterfheating, itis 'removed'jatfthei I other c after having been graduallylrinoved through thefu-rnace while'supported 'thereinff i on 'suitableftraclis/ A typical exampleofja furnace of this character andgoperated in" e. accordance with this practice is' the usual pair 1,0 heating 'furnace' used forheating pairs or into sheets.'

steel bars preparatory 'totheir being? rolledfv 175'A consecutively placed either' singly, orf la 'few at a 'timeona chargingplatform Vink front of the lcharging"door ofthe furnace "and then` consecutively pushed into 4the latterjbyy means ofl a pushing mechanismV havinga stroke.

*i which relatively shortlcompared to the total travel ofthe pairs vthroiighgth frompone end thereof to :thejotherg Thus, so!

- furnace., thosewhich werejpreviolislyintroduced and which-form a columnor'stack` eir-l tending towards the drawing dooi` are gradually pushed forward n kwith av step-byfstep motion until they are suiiic'iently e' adjacent thereto to permit thernto be successively Yre-` moved by the operatonfv i From ti me to vtime i empty it of the material whichislbeingheat: ed, either to facilitaterepaifrsor because theperiod. rlhereupoi'if the feed of v'thefjpairs to'.4 the furnace 'is vdiscoiitinued.y and thepairsin the furnacefwhich lie on-tracksgorfskids eX- 1 v. tending therethrough Y' arepushed Aforward as far as possible by means Vo f the); pusher, but of course asthe' stroke-'0f theflatteris limited, it then-becomes necessary A vtofintrof duce'som'e spacing means between the "pusher i i and the hindmost pairto enabley it, as well asA the precedingY pairsremaining the furnace, to be moved up ladjacent the drawing 4door for removal by the operator with` consequent emptying ofA the furnace.' ',Itfhasthereforef been 'the practice heretofore t'of "provide a" series of metallic frames'l.` orspacers' 'eachof' Inthe normal `operation"of such f the pairs orothermaterialfto behea'ted are Vto prevent their subsequent use. f Moreover,

becomes necessary v'in the operation of such a furnace/to completely-` furnace istojbe shut down'for Qanextended f lnace or at some otherpointin the plant when wenn',seriarivogiaiee, n

paratus andthe; hindinostpiair after it has been'pilshd into the;-fu rnace,' so'that on the;y l; i ensuing? yforyifard 4stroke yof the pushervtheg65 Y column *o airs infront of thefspacer wlll i ib@ moygdforwardfon a limited distance; thusfby introducing the spacers successively@ one after the other, it Qis'fpossible" to progres?V rsively Push ,the column toward.' #bediening-ed i. dooruntil the hindmo'st pairs reachapositi'on;

from which they mayberemoved`by,the'opi erator. lThis practiceis,liowever, *open to c fnumerous p objections," 'among which may be c v mentioned the usual necessity ofleaving ythei if l series l.of spacers in the'furnace after-,the pairs are elected vrtliferefroin" until they '.'can be proc gressively pushed outV byffeeding in'- newv j pairs between 'thepusher andthe hindmostr,L l i spacery upon l aY resumption ofthe heatingoperation and'this subjection ofthe spacers'gto. the heat of the furnace frequently results. in their becoming sofwarped `out ofshape as f ofthe furnace, necessitatingl the cooling vof i y thefur'nace to get the niaterial'outof it or. I

otherwise interfering with its normal opera-` tion. For thesefas well as otherfreasons,` such. Y

asthe ,Costlofjthespacers and necessityfof frequentlyr rene'wingV them, the laborand'fan'- noyance involved in their Iuse andthe room which they take up inthe vicinity of the vfur-k they'are idle,'ejinakesfthe employment of theL spacers extremely undesirablebut heretofore, l

tute has been suggestedtherefor.4

[The lpresent invention, therefore, its principal 'object the provision. ofvmeans for dischargingcor emptying the furnace not I open to the objectionsl inherent in the spacers er the like devices heretofore utiiized therefor? i f i and" which, additionally',- embodyladvantages so fares I am aware, 11o-satisfactory substi,y

has for es f such as convenience and certainty of operation, saving of time, positive action and lOW cost Which enhance the desirabilityuof their employment.l

A further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus of the character aforesaid adapted for operative combination and association With the ordinary pusher mechanism of the furnace and Which. when its use becomes necessary or desirable, may be readily placed iii position and thereafter operated to empty the furnace With a minimum expenditure of time and e'ort.

A. still further object of the invention is the provision of furnace discharging appa` ratus ofjnovel characterand which is adaptf ed for use with' substantially any type of fur# nace in which the material to be heated is pushed through the furnace from one end to the other, as Well as to provide an apparatus of this character Which'is relatively simple, inexpensive and of suoli form and construction that' it is `not liable to get out of order or" become damaged under the conditions of use to which itl must necessarily be subjected.

Additional objects, advantages and novel featuresof design, construction and. arrangement coinprehended by the invention are hereafter more particularly mentioned or Will be apparent to those skilled in theart from the following description of one embodiment thereof asillustrated inthe accompanying drawingsin operative combination Yand association with a furnace and its pusher mechanism.

"lnfthe said drawings, Figure l is a hori-A zontal section through the furnace (which in this figure is foreshortene'd for convenience of illustration) substantially on the line 1.-l in Fig. 3, the dischargingappa-ratusrbeing shown as it appears shortly after being placed Fig. lbeing a top plan vievv of the rear of the pusher cylinder and adjacent parts, and Fig. `5 a rear end view thereof. Fig. 6 is a top plan view lof the guide plate and adjacent parts sl'ioivingrthe plate s ecured in operative position on the pusher platen of the pusher mechanism; Fig. 7' is a rea-r elevation. of the guide plate removredfrom the pusher platenand 8 is a vertical section through the guide plate substantially on the line 8 8 in Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a top plan vievv of one end the auxiliary pusher platen and adjacent SinfFig.V 2. Figs. l to.

parts; Fig. l an end elevation thereof and Fig. 11 a rear elevation thereof, While Fig. l2 is a transverse section through the auxiliary pusher platen substantially on the line lf2-l2 inY Fig. 1l. In Fig. i3 l have shown a slightly different form of pushermechanism embodying a vertical platen as Well as a `modi'ied form of guide plate which may desirably be employed therewith. The same characters of reference are used to designate the same parts in the several figures.

As the furnace and pusherniechanism in connection With which the discharging apparatus is employed form no part of the present invention and may be of any preferred construction, I have only shown inthe drawingssuch parts Aof a typical furnace and pusher mechanism as are requisite for an adequate comprehension ofI the invention.

Thus, the furnace may comprise the usual side Walls l, front and rearwalls 2, 3, roof il and hearth above which on suitab e supports is disposed as pair of laterally spaced skids or tracks Textending through the furnace from the charging door Opening 8 'toV the drawing doorl opening 9 Which are respectively adapted to be operatively closed by a charging door l0., and a drawing door 11,ailue 12 communicating -with a tack i3 beingprovidedfor exhausting the products of combustion in the usual Way.

In front of the furnace the pusher. mechanism, generally designated as bfi, is disposed on a pedestall, said mechanism comprising in the customary Way a hydraulic or other cylinder 16 having a piston disposed therein Whose piston rod 4carries. atits forward end the usual-.pusher platen 17 which, as shown, is upwardly andrearivardly inclined so that the pairs Will be pushed into the furnace in a correspondingly inclined positionto thereby prevent them from falling over forwardly. The pusher platen is Wide enough to overiie the adjacent endsof the vskids which are desirably projected through thel charging door lopening to extend'alongside of the pusher mechanism and thus form .in effect a charging platform on which the pairs may be disposed preparatory to pushing them into the furnace by forward movement of the pusher platen.. As pusher.mechanism of the general character ofthat to Which reference has just `been made is commonly einployed in connection, with pair heating and like furnaces,further reference thereto would be su'jrfluousf.A y j It Will thus be understood; that iii-the normaloperation 0f the furnace the pairs, either singly or a few at a time, are consecutively disposed, on. the skids or charging platform between thec :harging'door opening and. the pusher platen when'` the latter is retracted and. then, after the charging door l0 is raised., are pushed into the furnace by suitable actuation of the pusher mechanism ,until= finally a regine;

cdluinnonstack yofy pairszor =other material l? is :forinedon the rskids extending from a .point near the vCharging doori'to a v"point near the drawing door through which the leadingandf Q fully heated. pairsare thereafter.ftconsecu-` tively reniovedby the operator `at that end of. the 4furnaceas ,freshk pairsare fed in at the: charging end. y j .-01 As aboveexyplained, the present .invention is designed' to provide means for. pushing through thek furnace .the pairs .which have. been previouslylfed tliereinto after the feed of :fresh pairs isi.discontinuedy to thereby.`v

facilitate i the emptying, ofv the furnace. of To c. this end kand in accordancewith the inven f tionxfl provide anv auxiliary pusher. plateny generally adesignatedas() andbest shown" in Figs. to l2; inclusive, which` comprises a plate 210iA sulrlcientfV length to overlie the skids? and Vproject beyond tliem..infeitherr direction for .a A.suitable distance as shown,

this plate disposedvertically. but, if de sired, it may-be inclined rearwardly and-up.-- wardl-y similarly tothe pusher platen' 17.

rllie plate is' desirably provided along7 ,its upper edge with a rearwardly extend-V ingfiange 2l', and-adjacent each end of theplate beneath the flangeris disposed. a cylin vdrical socket 22 adapted .tofreceivefthe` end of. a 'plungervr 23! which extends rearwardly therefrom.y f These sockets are .desirably spaced apart' laterally for a distancesomewhatyinexcess ofthedistance betweentlie skids, sogtliat when the. apparatus is in po.-vv sition. the' pluii gers 23 fwhich may desirably beinadeof. rpipe project rearwardly from the auxiliary .platenin- :parallel 4relation with the skids Aon.eitherfside thereof.l l 'For supportf ind` the auxiliary platen, on `thefskids and decreasing its'rfrictional resistance toinove-Y nient tliere'along,V a roller 24 yof suicient length to overlie thefslrids is desirablyprovided andjjournaled for rotation in brackets 25 bolted or otherwise secured to the rear y face of thev plate 214, the roller being so diss osed aste extend'alittle below the lower` l i edgeiofv the 'plate to thereby` maintain thek latter ingspaced "relation to the .when` fill;

the roller isl resting 'thereon.`

, The pliingers' Qfaije somewhat longer the passage of" the plungers,Y the diameter ofl theopenings 31 thusfforniedin thefplate being somewhat greater than that ofy the Vdirectly to the pusher platenf"` plungers so as aflordisuiitable 'clearance' around1 thev latter.Vv Y.On its Vforward side the naled ay smallfroll adapted to support the superj ace'nt plungerl in coaxial relation. with the adjacentopening l31,7and the yplate beboredv fortifier-reception of :thefboltsfy The "plate is provided ,withtwo .'.pairsof.spacedy l brackets 82 .between .each ofv which isY jour! tween theirollsis drille'dfortlie passage of bolts 34 by means of which it maybe re" miovably secured tothe platen li'l' ofthe pusher mechanism which is. correspondingly guide platefOfis preferably disposed'at right.

'angles te the plane ofthe-skids and thus nor-.5 v Vnial tothe axes of theplungers;`thiis,.where5 as is' quite usiial,vthe.pusher platen 'is rearwardlyj'and upwardly inclined :as shown in.' a vplurality ofjs'pace'r bloclsgxhav-L ing" correspondingly inclined rear faces may be welded yor otherwise secured Vto the. back of. the guideplate SOlso' as-to hold the latter inthe proper position when the inclined facesnof the yblocks". are seated against the correspondingly inclined face ofthe platen'.V`

However, when' the platen 17 is vertically disposed. as kshown inFig. 13,5the kspacer blocks 3514 may haveztheir rear facesparallel with the front face of the guideplate' or else.- V- v may be omitted .entirely andtheplate bolted Suitable means are also'proifided fording support tort'm for af-j 'rear 'ends of theV plungers when the latter'are retracted as.'

shownYV in Fig. l, said means. preferably coinl prising arcller 40, of 'sufiicient length to alL low the plungers toroverlie it, disposed transversely of the latter fat any suitable point ad' 'Y jacent the rear end ofthe pusher mechanism. A convenient method of moi'inting vtheroller Visl by nieans of oppositely formed brackets il secured by bolts l2 tothe flangeof the rea-r cylinder head of ythe pusher mechanism, thesebrackets being arrangedto-freceive the shaft of the roll Aasbest shownA in Figs. 4 and 5 at a proper Vheight to afford the requisite support 'to the' plungers,' but anyother method.vk

of mounting-the roller maybe utilized i'fpre'- ferred. The brackets`v and Vroller l0 after be!" ing laced in position''mayY thereafter' be left l -perinanently ther-ein. Y

Y kTheplungers areprovided at'Spaced intervals with vertically extending'holes i3 :for f the reception .of removable headedfpins le 'which can be vslipped into they holes-in adv,va-nce of the guide4 plate'soa's to' receii/'e the thrust thereof` as it is advanced by thek pusher nie'chanismto thereby vin turn adrance'lthe plungers and the auxiliary pusher platen relativelyto the. furnace. y. A 1

Vhile it is believed the method ofreinployving niyiiiiprovedl `furnace discharging appa--l ratus will be apparent from the foregoing descriptionfand ythe drawingsfforiiiing partof this specification, brief `refe're'nce thereto may not be out of place: Thenorn'ial operation of Ifo ing is discontinued and the pusher mechanism operated so as to push the hindm'ost pair p Which has been previously fed into the furnace as far forward as possible. Furnace die charging apparatus constructed in accordance Wit-h my invention 1s then brought up land the guide plate bolted in position on the pusher platen While the latter is retracted so that the auxiliary pusher platen 2O lies between the guide plate andthe hindmost pair. The rear ends of the plungers thus extend over and are supported on the roller 4:0 and the former may then be pushed forward so as to bring the auxiliary platen 2O into e; gagement with the hindmost pairjp. Pins lll are next inserted i in th transversely aligned holes 1n the plungers which lie in front of and nearest to t ie guide plate and the pusher mechanism then operated so as to move the guide plate and in turn the plungers and auxiliary platen forwardly into the fur nace, thus pushing the column of pairs forwardly until the pusher mechanism reaches the extremity of its foward stroke. The pusher platen and guide plate are then vretracted by suit-able actuation of the pusher mechanism, but owing to the clearance between the Walls of the openings 3l in the guide plate and the plungers, the lat-ter do not move back with the guide plate but re main in their forwardly projected position, l/Vhen the pusher platen and guide plate reach the limit of their rearward stroke, the same or other pins L4 are inserted inanother pair of aligned holes in the plungers in front of the plate and as clcselyadi'acent thereto as mi convenient and the platen and plate again moved forwardly, with corresponding for Ward movement of the plungers and auxiliary platen Which is communicated through the latter to the column of pairs lying on the skids to move them forward to a corresponding distance. rlhis series of operations are consecutively repeated until the auxiliary platen reaches substantially the position shown Fig. 2, thereby bringing the hindmost p air to a position p from which it may be readily removed through the drawing door.v1 thus entirely clearing the furnace of material. The pins ist are now removed from the pipes and the latter retracted by hand or otherwise j until the auxiliary platen passes through the charging door opening and entirely clears the same, after which the guide plate is unbclted from the pusher platen i7 and the discharging apparatus, except the roller l0 i and its support, removed until again requires for emptyingthefurnacea second time.

lt Will thus be apparent that in accordance l With my invention l have provided apparatus for pushing the pairs or other material -through the furnace Which is positive in action and so constructed as to properly folloW the skids and correspondingly cause the material to similarly follow themV throughout its passage therealong; that the apparatus is of such character as to permit it to be very readily put into use when and as required and as readily removed from operative position When no longer needed, so that it is entirely unnecessary to leave any portion of the apparatus in the furnace after it has been emptied of material and While it is cooling down. ln consequence, the apparatus is not subjected to such prolonged heating as Would tend to cause warping or disalignment of the parts, and as the actual operative Wear of the latter is substantially negligible, the apparatus remains in serviceable condition substantially indefinitely,A thus avoiding the expense of frequent replacement Which is one of the objections to the frames or spacers heretofore employed. When emptying a furnace. Moreover, as the apparatus is of relatively simple form and construction, its initial cost is relatively low and as the parts are strong and devoid of delicate mechanism, there is but little danger of their becoming damaged or gettingout of order under the conditions of use to which they are necessarily subjected.

lVhile l have herein described one form of my invention With' considerable particularity, l do not hereby desire or intend to specifically confine myself to any specific details in the design, construction and arrangement of the various parts as, if desired, the same may be varied in numerousl particulars in accordance with the particular conditions under which the apparatus is to be used or to adapt it for employment with different types of furnaces and/or pusher mechanism or for other reasons Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States: y

l. Apparatus of the character described, comprisingV a pusher platen adapted tov extend transversely of the skids in a furnace, spaced plungers extending rearwardly from the platen, and a guide plate adapted for operative connection with the pusher platen of the furnace charging mechanism and provided With spaced openings for the passage of the plungers. Y

2. Apparatus of the character described, comprising a pusher platen adapted to extend across the skids of a furnace, means for supporting the platen in spaced relation to the skids, a pair of laterally spaced plungers carried by and extending rearwardly from the platen, and a guide plate adapted for operative attachment to the pusher platen of the furnace charging mechanism and having spaced openings for thevpassage of the plungich fsu

sesam ers and means adjacentfeach openingfor af-i fordingsupport thereto.

V3. Apparatus ofthe characterfdescribedf comprising a pusher platen adapted to extend 7L Theconbinationf'w'ithj a'furnacejliavv' transversely across` the skids of a furnace, antifriction means carried by the platenoperative to supportvthe same in spaced relation ers carried by and extending rearwardlyfrom the platen, and a guide plate adaptedfor 0perative attachment to the pusher platen of the furnace charging mechanism and having lat-` erally spaced openings for the passage of the plungers and antifriction means disposed adjacent each opening to-aord support tothe plunger when extended therethrough.

'4. Apparatusy of thel character-described,

comprising a pusher platen 'adapted to ex-l' tend transversely across the skids of a furnace, a roller carriedby'th'e platen opera-.-

tive to support the same in spaced ,relation with theskids and facilitate its movement therealong, apair of laterally spacedpluiigers carried by fand extending rearwardly` from the platen, a guide plate adapted for operativeattachment to the pusher platen of the furnace charging mechanismf'and having i laterally spaced openings for the passageof i ltherealoi'ig, al pair of llaterally spaced ,plung-" ers carriedwby and extending rearwardly fromY` the' plungers and 'a rollsdisposed adjacent*l`r each Vopening to afordfsupport to the superjacent plunger when extended therethrough,

and means for 'supporting the lends of the plungers when retracted-through the guide plate.`v

' 5. Apparatus of the character described,` comprising a pusher platen adapted" to ex-f. tend transversely across the skidsof a furnace, aproller carried 'by 'theplatenjopera-r` tive to support the saine in" spaced vrelation withthe skids and facilitate itsmovement the platen, .aV guide plate adapted for operative l'attachment `to thek pusher platen of the y furnace charging mechanism and having laterally spaced openings for the passage of the plii'ngers anda roll disposed adjacent each opening to afford support Vto the superjacent plunger when j extended therethrough. and

carried bythe guide plate operative to maintain it at Vright angles totheplane of the skids when operatively attached tothe v pusher platen of the charging mechanism.

6; Thefcombination-with a furnace having spaced skids extending therethrough and charging mechanism comprising: a ,pusher i j platen` disposed-adjacent the charging door of the furnace, cfineansv for vmoving ,ma-

terial along saidl skids comprising a 'guide plate'secured ,to-.the pusher; platen ofsaid mechanism, a pair offplungers disposed on opposite sides of vthe skids [andrespectivelyA guided 7by the plate, anjauxiliary pusher.y platensecured' to s the forward ends-"of the:

jplungers vand"f-'extending transversely L,of-"the Vfskidsyaii'd means' for impartingftothe plungers' forward kmotiori'of thefpusher platen inf "duced by'i'ctuatiH/Of this .Charging mchaf ing inician speed. skids .esami-isaiasitudina'lly vtherethi'ough and charging mechanism f Acomprising a'wpusher platen disposed adjacent the charging door of thesfurnace, Aofmeans for communicating to material on ZIO the skids within the furnace forward motionl I of the pusher platen induced-by actuationV of the charging mechanism and comprising i an auxiliary pusher platen adapted toeni gage said material, laterally spaced plunger's extending rearwardly from saidplaten, a guide plate operatively secured lto the pusherplaten of the `charging mechanism so .as

nism comprising a pusher platen disposed adjacent the charging door of theV furnace,

of means for' communicating to *material on,4

ythe skids withinthe furnace forward motion of the pusher platen induced by actuation of the charging mechanism and compris-y ing anauxiliary pusher platenextending transversely l of the skids and having Vanti-y friction means adapted to rest thereon` to c l facilitate movement of the platen therealong,

laterally spacedplungersv extending rear- Vvvardly fromv thefplaten on opposite sides of the skids and charging mechanism, a guide v. plate operatively secured totheV pusher platen l ofv 'said Vmechanismand comprising spaced openings adapted for the passage of the" for affording vertical support to the plungplungers, means carried by the guide plate ers when extended throughsaidl openings,- and removable means adapted for disposition at spaced vpoints along the plungers forengagement by the'guide plate when moved forwardly by thepusher mechanism to there- K by impart corresponding movement to the plungers and auxiliary platen.

9. -Thecombination with a furnace havin 9;

laterally spaced skids extending longitudiizon Vnally therethrough and charging mechanism comprising aV pusher platen disposed adjap' cent the charging door of the furnacapf: f c means for communicating to material onthe.'`

skids within the furnace forward motion of the Jpusherplaten induced byjactuation of. d'

the charging ,mechanism and comprising an.. p' auxiliary pusherzplatenjada'pted toengage I w said material, laterally/'spaced plungers ex-y tending rearwardly fromsaid platen, a vguideY .iso

to move therewith' and havingopenings for Q5 plate operatively securedto the pusher` platen of the charging mechanism and having openings for the passage of the plungers, and

means for supporting .the rear ends of the ,A Y

plungers when extended through the guide plate for a predetermined distance.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day of February, 1930.

EDWARD F. AMENT. 

